


Universe Now

by lately (aeggyu)



Category: Infinite (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Space, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Eventual Smut, M/M, Mechanic!Sunggyu, Pilot!Woohyun, Pining, Sunggyu wears shorts at some point, Wet Dream, thigh fucking
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-28
Updated: 2017-09-17
Packaged: 2018-07-18 20:38:13
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 12,924
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7329856
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aeggyu/pseuds/lately
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Woohyun might be new to the worst Intergallactic base in the Alliance, but he knows how to recognize an asshole when he sees one. (Or how he misjudges Sunggyu until they become friends.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> the au is sort of but not really based on the starfighter comic and to some degree star wars and star trek too, even though i don't directly reference any of those bc i'm lazy. also, cygnus is an actual constellation and there are hundreds of planets named kepler, but the rest of the planets mentioned are made-up. i use the words ship, starfighter and (space)craft interchangeably; in this au they all mean the same. uuuuh i think that's all? enjoy.

Sungyeol hauls him up. Woohyun isn’t sure if his knees are shaking or it’s just his imagination.

Around them, the crowd howls.

Sunggyu stands before him, smile bloody and proud. It makes Woohyun want to punch it off his face.

He lunges forward, pent-up rage as fuel. A flare-up. He catches Sunggyu off-guard, falls on top of him and straddles his chest. Woohyun tries to connect one—no—two punches with his face. Sunggyu avoids them both.

Woohyun pulls at Sunggyu’s hair, holds him in place, teaches him to stay. Sunggyu snarls like a dog, a madman. Woohyun smacks his head against the floor. Sunggyu grunts in pain. Droplets of blood stain the grey tiles.

“That’s enough,” someone says. Woohyun finds himself shaking.

Another person drags him away from Sunggyu, who’s rubbing his head and spitting up a mix of saliva and blood. “We’ve got a clear winner.”

He’s not sure who they mean.

—-

They get two months’ worth of cleaning soot out of the spaceships, Sunggyu and him. Apparently, one of the higher-ups thinks animosity between pilots and their mechanics is one of the most important issues in a decadent base orbiting a forgotten planet.

Woohyun scoffs, glancing at the man standing in the sturdy part of a wing while he scrubs off the dirt. If he’s lucky, Sunggyu won’t talk to him while they’re cleaning. Any other outcome sounds like disaster waiting to happen.

At any rate, that Sunggyu is ready to throw some punches at anyone who dares to talk to him isn’t Woohyun’s fault. All he did was mention the small, thumb-sized antennae poking through Sunggyu’s hair, similar to Woohyun’s own. He wasn’t expecting Sunggyu to spit curses against half-blooded humans or impure Xerxians halfway through dinner at the cafeteria, but he couldn’t let the guy insult his (their?) races. He merely stood up to the stuck-up man.

He shakes his head. To think that he had considered asking Sunggyu to help him relieve some stress because he thought he was cute.

A tap on his shoulder shakes him out of his thoughts. He looks at the person standing next to him. Sungjong, his Wilkian co-pilot gives him a small smile.

“If you keep scrubbing that same spot you’re gonna make a hole through the plane,” he says.

Woohyun looks at the surface, which by now is far shinier than the rest. He sighs and throws the rag into the bucket next to him. “What’s up?”

“Sorry to interrupt your date, but we have a mission,” the young man says, glancing at Sunggyu. How is he not scared of the Xerxian, Woohyun is not sure, but then again Sungjong is more ruthless than he looks, so there’s that.

His eyes light up. He’s been cleaning for about five hours now, tense and waiting for Sunggyu to jump him at any second. “Oh really? Tell me more about this.” He wraps an arm around Sungjong’s shoulder and steers him away from the old spacecraft.

They’re about five minutes away when Sunggyu yells, “Where the fuck do you think you’re going?!”

“Away from your ugly mug!” he replies without looking back.

“What? Come back here!” Sunggyu warns. Woohyun starts dragging Sungjong, who looks like he wants to explain the situation, but they can’t risk going back with that beast.

“Can’t, have a mission!” He hurries down the hall, breaking into a small jog with Sungjong to his side before Sunggyu can start going after them.

—

Sungjong may still be baby-faced, but he has an adult look on his face that deters Woohyun from making comments about his age. He’s yet to master the art of piloting Interceptors (and starfighters in general) but Woohyun is sure it’s just a matter of time. His maturity demonstrates there’s no age for that as well.

“So how come they sent you to get me instead of announcing it through the speaker?” Woohyun asks the boy, who’s busying himself with a cigarette.

Sungjong places the stick between his lips and lights it up. It takes him a while to speak.

“I guess they don’t want to be bothered with you,” he ends up saying, glancing at Woohyun. “You hurt the best mechanic in the whole base.”

“He started it,” Woohyun shoots back, remembering his black eye.

Sungjong pushes the smoke out of his lungs as they enter the deck. “Yeah, but that’s to be expected of him.”

Someone from a far corner yells at Sungjong to put off his cigarette, so the boy does. He presses the burning side on the back of his hand, to later throw the cig butt on a trashcan nearby. Woohyun has seen many weird things happen throughout his life, but the diamond-like skin of a Wilkian will never stop amazing him.

“Which is why he’s stuck there cleaning while I go on… what is the mission again?” Woohyun mumbles.

Sungjong shrugs. “Just simple reconnaissance stuff. We’ll be back in a couple of hours tops.”

Woohyun huffs. He’s not a fan of those kinds of missions, but at least that’s better than cleaning for a whole day.

—

Dinner is the highlight of his day. A few people congratulate him. Others scoff at him. Woohyun gives them a nasty look. So he won. And people are bitter enough even though they were the stupid ones who decided to bet on his fight against Sunggyu.

Dongwoo and Sungyeol, a pair of Cygnusians and his roommates, wave at him from a corner. He’s not even done sitting down when they both start bombarding him with questions.

“How was cleaning duty?”

“I heard you guys had a fight again.”

“Did you really make a whole in the old Mac?”

“Sunggyu didn’t make you drink the cleaning solution, did he?”

“Oh, I heard he did! Your face looks a little pale, are you alright? Is it poisoning for humans?”

Woohyun drops his plate on the table, the metallic sound ringing harsh on their ears. “Shut up, none of that is true.”

Sungyeol makes a face.

“Alright but come on, at least something interesting should’ve happened,” Dongwoo says.

Woohyun shakes his head. He could tell them about the reconnaissance mission, but even that wasn’t exactly what he would consider interesting. All he saw was meteors, space rocks in the distance. Sungjong almost fell asleep. When he’s about to tell them about his uneventful day when a plate drops next to him with the annoying sound of metal hitting metal ringing on his ears. The odd-smelling paste that is the main course doesn’t even move.

He looks up to find Sunggyu’s impassive mug as the Xerxian sits in front of him. “No one is using this place, right?”

Woohyun frowns, about to tell him to go fuck himself, when Sunggyu motions the guard behind him with a head movement. Right. They should try to get along. “No, all yours.”

They stay silent for a bit after that. Woohyun is on edge. Sunggyu just eats. Sungyeol and Dongwoo look like they’d rather be anywhere else.

He sighs. There goes his appetite.

—

Sungyeol and Dongwoo choose to sit somewhere else after that. Woohyun grits his teeth and spends his breakfast, lunch and dinner eating in silence in front of an equally disgruntled Sunggyu.

—

“So,” Woohyun starts with a casual tone after dinner one day, several weeks later, “do you have any friends in here?”

Sunggyu stops wiping the grease stains off a window. Who knows how they got there. “Why?” is all he replies.

Woohyun shrugs, putting down his rag. “I’m just curious. Some small talk while we’re eating would be nice.”

“I guess my roommates Sungjongie, Myung and Hoya, but they’re not very sociable. What happened to yours?” Sunggyu glances at him for a few seconds before restarting his cleaning. “They looked alright, even though they didn’t speak much the other day.”

“They’re both cowards,” Woohyun replies, wetting his rag. “I guess they didn’t want to be there if we go at each other’s throats again.”

Sunggyu chuckles slightly, and Woohyun looks up from the bucket. The Xerxian has a soft smile on his face, almost invisible. From the moment Woohyun was transferred from Earth’s base to this point, he doesn’t think he’s seen the man do other than make rude comments and laugh in a mocking fashion.

But this, this is different. And he doesn’t know what to do with it.

“I can see why,” Sunggyu says, nonchalant.

Woohyun clears his throat. Maybe it’s about time to let go of things.

“Yeah… sorry about that.”

Sunggyu stops for a few seconds, but then starts wiping with more fervor than before. “Well, that was fast.”

“I’m trying here, don’t ruin it.” Woohyun drops the piece of cloth and crosses his arms in front of his chest. “Did I hit your head too hard?”

“Not sure if you’re apologizing or merely taunting.” Sunggyu mumbles, moving on to the next window. He looks at Woohyun. “What?”

Woohyun raises his eyebrows. “I’m just asking.”

Sunggyu sighs. “It’s alright. Nothing to worry about. Your eye, on the other hand…”

“It’s getting back to normal,” Woohyun finishes off for him, reaching for the rag. When he gets back up, Sunggyu isn’t looking at him anymore. “I had to release some tension in some way anyway.”

Sunggyu snorts, and it’s until then that Woohyun realizes the implications behind his words. “Whatever,” is all the Xerxian says. Then, his smile drops. “I guess I deserved that for what I said.”

“Well,” Woohyun starts, “I don’t know what to say.”

Sunggyu turns his back to him, and starts cleaning one of the panels. “Let me be right about that.”

Their conversation dies at that.

—

Another reconnaissance mission. More staring at the emptiness of the black ocean they call universe and look out for rocks. Sungjong hums a soft tune while Woohyun pilots the Interceptor with ease.

“Hey, Jongie,” he mumbles, staring at the radar.

“I told you not to call me that,” the younger man replies.

“I think it’s cute.”

Sungjong looks at him. “How did you even come up with it?”

Woohyun tries to not look away from the multiple screens that help him pilot. There goes an asteroid. “Sunggyu called you that the other day. I thought it was funny.”

“So you’ve started to talk without spitting to each other? That’s new.”

“I had to get some kind of personal interaction after everyone else ditched us like it’s fucking high school or something.” He catches the reflection of Sungjong’s confused expression through one of the monitors and sighs. “It’s a reference. School, you know? In earth everyone is kind of childish at that point in their lives.”

“I know what high school is,” Sungjong replies. “Sunggyu’s told me about it.”

“ _Time to go back, STR-9_ 1,” a voice through the intercom interrupts their conversation.

“Got it,” Woohyun replies, tilting the spacecraft.

Next to him, Sungjong snickers and tells him that he should talk about high school with Sunggyu.

—

Bad idea.

Sunggyu stares at him for a few seconds, stunned, before grabbing Woohyun by the collar of his shirt and pushing him against the spacecraft they’re cleaning. Eyebrows furrowed, mouth twisted. Sunggyu is going to punch him (again).

“What are you playing, Nam?” he spits. Woohyun doesn’t get why he’s so defensive.

“Hey, what the fuck? What’s wrong with you?” he pushes the man away, trying to free himself, but Sunggyu is a rock unmoving by the waves.

“You think it’s funny, don’t you?” Sunggyu gets him back to his previous position. Woohyun’s head smacks against steel and aluminum before he has a chance to protest. “Just when I thought you were starting to become a decent person.”

Despite his situation, Woohyun laughs. “Funny that’s what I thought before you started spouting shit about one of my races.”

“I have my reasons. Or what, you think everyone on Earth is accepting of all aliens?” Sunggyu speaks close, breaths mingling, and anger palpable.

Woohyun scoffs, looking away. “That still doesn’t make me understand your anger, and I’m mixed too, you know?” he replies. Then, stares at Sunggyu. “Just like you.”

Sunggyu grabs him with both hands and drags him away from the piece of metal to later push him back again, enraged. “I’m aware of that.”

“How could you not be? We have basically the same traits.” Woohyun notices Sunggyu loosening his hold, but he decides to remain where he is. His next words are spoken with a little more care. “Why are you so bitter about it?”

Sunggyu scoffs, letting go of Woohyun. He buries one hand on the pocket of his overall and uses the other to comb his hair. “It’s personal, okay?”

Woohyun takes a deep breath, realizing he just saved himself from a very probable beating. He stares at Sunggyu, who looks smaller than before, with his shoulders hunched and his gaze fixed in some point in the distance. He’s probably going to regret this later, but curiosity is stronger.

“I’m not going to judge,” he says. “Not anymore.”

——-

Woohyun strikes Sungjong in the face and thinks it’s funny that he has less than six months in the worst base of this side of the universe and he’s already punched two people at the cafeteria.

Sungjong springs back, cig falling from his mouth, and hits the floor with a loud thud while the rest of the people sitting at the table stare in shocked silence. He sits up, rubbing his lip, and glares at Woohyun. Woohyun stares back, the adrenaline from rushing from the cargo area to find his co-pilot catching up to him.

“You fucking idiot,” he tells Sungjong. “You sent me there to babble like an idiot fully knowing what was gonna happen.”

Sungjong touches his lower lip, which is swollen but not broken. “To be honest I was expecting him to kick your ass again.”

“You little—”

Woohyun is ready to throw himself at Sungjong again before someone grabs him by the shoulder. He looks back to find Sunggyu stopping him with a shake of his head.

“We’re not done cleaning,” he says, dragging Woohyun away from the group of onlookers before someone might come to extend Woohyun’s punishment. But knowing what he does, Woohyun thinks he can endure a couple more months cleaning old aircraft pieces in that means he gets to punch Sungjong in his pretty face as a way to vent.

Woohyun stares at Sunggyu’s back. He wonders if the man would run after him again if Woohyun were to turn around and go back to the cafeteria. A part of him still wants to, but the fact that Sunggyu is walking in front of him without looking back probably means he trusts Woohyun.

Damn fool.

When Sunggyu had told him he was bullied at school because his father was a notorious Xerxian, Woohyun was expecting to hear the usual. After all, having mixed blood meant isolation and a few times of being pushed around by losers for Woohyun, and he figured the experience was similar for the rest of people like him. What he wasn’t expecting, though, was knowing Sunggyu’s father was the same man who decided to turn a fraction of Xerxes’ population into rebels against the Intergalactic Alliance, or more precisely, against Earth.

Woohyun wasn’t born yet, but he remembers learning about it in high school and then during his years at the military academy. The rebels wanted the Alliance to stop imposing economic and political standards on the planet, and they wanted it at all costs. When the world leaders from Earth, the nearest neighbor, threatened to stop trade with them because of security concerns, they sent pilots to crash on major cities of the world. The conflict didn’t last much. Other planets intervened in favor of Earth, and the extremists were captured. The lucky ones were banished from the Alliance, but some others didn’t last enough to be taken into custody.

Sunggyu was five years old and living in Earth with his mother at that time. His father had family and children back in Xerxes. He never met his father, but as he grew up and people started realizing he looked similar, the rumors began. The small aggressions Woohyun was victim to were nothing compared to what Sunggyu had to go through, not only in school but during the academy years and even some time during his stay at Earth’s intergalactic base, which is why when his superior transferred him to the farthest base possible, Sunggyu didn’t complain.

“So,” after reminiscing about what Sunggyu told him before, Woohyun clears his throat and catches up to the man, falling into step next to him, “why didn’t you let me leave Sungjong’s face like ground meat?”

Sunggyu shrugs. “As much as I’d like to see Sungjong sporting a bruise or something, you have to remember that you’re going to break your fist before actually causing damage.”

“Ah… I didn’t think of that.” Woohyun scratches the back of his head. “I still feel like a fool for listening to him, though.”

“Not your fault. Anyone falls for that pretty face, even if he’s always in a sour mood,” Sunggyu replies, a fond smile on his face. So he’s not mad at Sungjong for reminding him of his past.

They keep walking for a while before Woohyun asks without thinking, “Even you?”

Sunggyu halts his steps and Woohyun wonders if asking that means going too far. But what is  _ going too far _ with Sunggyu? What else can happen to him? Worst case scenario, they beat each other to a pulp again and have to be condemned to swiping floors for the rest of their lives. The calluses on Woohyun’s hands say, “You do your thing, it’s not like you care about us.”

“Well,” Sunggyu starts, his expression saying  _ wow, what? _ “I suppose he’s not my type.”

“Oh,” Woohyun replies, avoiding to look at Sunggyu in the eyes. “I guess he’s not my type either.”

Sunggyu whistles, and Woohyun catches him nodding before looking away. “Good to know,” he says, an odd edge on his voice. “Anyway, I better go to bed, you know? I have to wake up early to take a look at a Behemot and AT and stuff so…”

Woohyun nods, glancing at the mechanic. “Good, yeah, me too. Reconnaissance missions tomorrow and all that jazz.”

He thinks he hears Sunggyu mumble something like a good night, so he waves as he starts walking to the west wing, but before he makes it to the corner, Sunggyu shouts with uncertainty, “Oh, and Woohyun?”

“Yeah?”

“Thanks for… You know”

Woohyun tries not let his smile appear too big. “Pinch Sungjong in the nose for me, will you?”

—

It’s funny how life works. A year ago, Woohyun wouldn’t have thought he'd be stranded in a practically deserted base with not many resources and hitting coworkers? He would have laughed. It was his job to always do the most. Be the most courageous, the most respectful, and the best-behaved. It was easy for him to mold himself so that he could be liked. Maybe that way people would forget his origins.

With such thoughts in mind, Woohyun decides to take a shower room after reaching his shared bedroom, so he grabs a set of clean clothes and heads back to the common showers. By the time he comes back, Dongwoo and Sungyeol are getting ready to go to bed.

“Tough night?” Sungyeol says so lightly that Woohyun is sure he’s dying to know all the details.

“Yeah,” he mumbles, dismissive, but the combination of Dongwoo and Sungyeol’s curiosity is too much.

“What happened back there?” Dongwoo asks, straight to the point. “Sungjong got up and said it was just a joke, and that was it.”

“Did any of the superiors see?” Woohyun asks, remembering that the only thing he focused on was punching Sungjong without caring who was in the room.

Dongwoo shakes his head. “But seriously, you have to tell us why.”

“Does it have to do with Sunggyu?” Sungyeol adds. Woohyun groans and rubs his face. Only until then he realizes how tired he is.

“Why does everything have to do with Sunggyu these days?” he replies, climbing to the top bunk. Both men follow his movements with their gazes, but he’s not sure he’s ready to tell.

“So it does,” Sungyeol comments after a while. Woohyun lies on his side and stares at them.

Dongwoo hums. “Maybe Woohyun’s found out the aggression he expressed towards Sunggyu was romantic and or physical interest misinterpreted as negative feelings such as anger or envy, but now that they’ve spent time together he’s finally giving in to his attraction and now sees Sungjong’s interactions with Sunggyu as a potential threat.” Sungyeol and Woohyun stare at him. “What? It could happen.”

“Are you sure you chose the right career?” Sungyeol asks, clapping slowly.

Woohyun sighs. “Next time consider becoming an essayist or something. Maybe a philosopher.”

“Don’t change the subject, please,” Dongwoo says. “We might be onto something big.”

“’We’?” Woohyun echoes.

“Yeah, Sunggyu and his people and, well, us.” The older man shrugs. “Sunggyu doesn’t talk to anyone other than his roommates, the AT pilots Hoya and Myungsoo, aside from the obvious Sungjong. If you go around punching his friends and he doesn’t break your face for that, then I guess something changed.”

“It’s not as important as it seems, really,” Woohyun replies, lying on his back. “Sungjong tricked me into making Sunggyu beat me up, but I guess it didn’t work.” He glances at both men, who deflate after his explanation. “See? I told you it wasn’t important.”

“That boy doesn’t look like trouble, but he’s sure something else,” Dongwoo comments. Woohyun can’t help but chuckle. He was played well.

Sungyeol doesn’t seem ecstatic with the new information. “But what did Sungjong say?”

Woohyun stares at him in the eyes. He knows there are things that shouldn’t be broadcasted without permission. “You,” he says, “are very curious beings.”

—

Dongwoo and Sungyeol go to sleep after that, although a bit unsatisfied by Woohyun’s dismissive responses. Woohyun refuses to give in, however. This isn’t some sort of boarding school where rumors fly and young boys give in to gossip. But the words they’ve shared with Woohyun resonate within him, making him unable to fall asleep.

He sighs and pushes his covers aside. Maybe working out will help him get tired, or even better, maybe he needs to find a place to be alone with his thoughts.

Wearing only a pair of sweatpants and a cotton sleeveless shirt, he puts on a pair of boots that belong to who knows whom and slips through the door with as much as a light _creak_. None of the men stir awake.

Walking through the hallways sounds a thousand times louder at night, when there’s no one. A group of people came back from a mission a while ago, but they’re located far from the west wing dorms. Woohyun makes his way through the place while keeping an eye for anyone who may be suspicious of him. They’re technically allowed to go out at any time, but if a superior catches him out of his room he’s bound to ask some questions.

Woohyun doesn’t feel like sharing.

He finally reaches his destination: The old hangar. Skeletons of monsters of scrap metal from previous times are scattered throughout the place, obsolete spacecrafts that, if lucky, are scavenged for parts that might work on new ships. A particular one catches his attention: A brown and grey, predecessor of modern Behemoths that was used probably a good thirty years ago. Things like that wouldn’t hold it in space today.

He pulls the hatch open and climbs inside the craft. Inside is not much different than outside. Rust and dust cover the whole place, with the exception of the glass. Woohyun wonders what it’s made of, for nowadays Starfighters have to have the windows reinforced with material that is definitely not as breakable, but still as transparent. He approaches the control panel and taps the glass. It doesn’t even echo.

Sitting on the copilot seat, Woohyun stares through the window and wonders how it must have been for the first generations to see the universe, to throw themselves at the wild with only theoretical knowledge of it.

It must have felt lonely.

The latch smacking open behind him startle him so much he jumps out of his seat, turning around in a rush to explain why he’s there, even though he has no true explanations to get him out of trouble. The good thing is that it’s just Sunggyu, who jumps inside and dusts off his pants before closing the small door with the same lack of care as when he opened it.

Woohyun narrows his eyes, feeling his heart going wild against his chest. “You’re really trying to get us caught aren’t you?”

“I’m not the one sitting in front of the window like I’m in some kind of display, am I?” Sunggyu shoots back, patting Woohyun in the shoulder.

The pilot watches as Sunggyu’s hand lingers as its owner scans the craft. “Why are you here?”

“I couldn’t sleep, so I was taking a tour when I saw you enter the old hangar,” Sunggyu replies, finally letting go in order to approach the same panel Woohyun was sitting in front of. “Wow, this is really old technology, who uses touch screens anymore?”

Woohyun settles next to Sunggyu. “I guess crafts like these aren’t used anymore for a reason,” he offers. Sunggyu hums in response. “I wonder why this one is still left in one piece.”

“Yeah, it should be in a museum or something,” Sunggyu adds, fiddling with the controls. Woohyun wonders for a second what would happen if he accidentally turned it on. “I don’t think it’s easy to transport it, though. Especially with the lack of funding this base gets.”

“Have you been here for long?” Woohyun asks.

“Not really,” Sunggyu replies, “I think it will be five years in a couple of weeks.”

“And how old are you?”

“In earth’s years? Probably over thirty by now.”

Woohyun widens his eyes. “And you’ve been a mechanic for this base for so long?” He whistles when Sunggyu nods. “Back on earth you’d be a famous mechanical engineer or something.”

Sunggyu snorts, “I wouldn’t go that far, but by now I would’ve received a raise at least.” He stretches both legs in front of him, placing his feet on top of the control panel. “But I don’t know if I’d want to be famous in a place like that.”

Woohyun can’t help but take in the sight of Sunggyu with his fingers interlaced on top of his stomach, his sleep wear loose on him. He’s used to seeing the man wear either a pair of dirty, worn-down pants or overalls coupled with bulky work boots, but now, with an almost transparent shirt and basketball shorts and wearing a tired and yet dreamy expression on his face, Sunggyu almost looks like someone else.

Woohyun blames the hour for his wandering thoughts.

“Did you ever consider becoming a pilot?” he mumbles, almost not wanting Sunggyu to hear him. He catches a glimpse of iridescent green on Sunggyu’s calves when the Xerxian crosses his legs, acknowledging his question. Woohyun has the same kind of glow on his shoulders.

“It crossed my mind a few times, but I realized that would only get me into a bunch of trouble,” he laughs, but it doesn’t reach his eyes. “I’ve always been better with my hands anyway.”

Woohyun glances at Sunggyu’s fingers, playing among themselves on top of his belly, but tries not to stare too much. Even if he doesn’t want to think of the innuendo, it’s difficult.

“And yet there was still something calling you to space,” he completes, facing front, imagining the adrenaline of facing the unknown. But not only that, for when one is young and wants to start again,

“The idea of running away often sounds pretty appealing,” Sunggyu completes the thought for him, and it’s right there, in the middle of the night in an abandoned spacecraft where Woohyun knows he’s done for good. “Ah, I need a beer.”

They spend a few seconds in silence, before Sunggyu snorts.

Woohyun frowns. “What?”

“Nothing.” The man shakes his head, chuckling. “It’s just… what are we doing here?”

“Having a late-night conversation?” Woohyun tries.

And Sunggyu turns around, faces him, and Woohyun understands. What they’re doing light years away from home, floating in the middle of nowhere with only the vague promise of a purpose keeping them there—That’s what Sunggyu means.

In the near darkness of the old craft, their skins have a light glow.

—

Sunggyu, a mess of frustrated dreams and hindered opportunities courtesy of previous generations, too old and yet not enough to give up and settle for what he has, even if he doesn’t know it yet.

Sunggyu, confident man, thinks he knows it all. Fights every day to not lose hope.

Sunggyu, part human, part something else. With a pair of antennae hidden among his blackish curls and a trail of crocodile-like scales that cover his spine, similar to the ones Woohyun possesses.

Sunggyu, professional liar who is ridiculously homesick. Woohyun thinks they’re not as different as he thought they were when he landed that first punch.

Sunggyu. Woohyun has a weird dream after they go back to their respective rooms and manages to fall asleep.

“Sunggyu,” Woohyun moans against the back of his neck, digging his fingers on the skin of his hips.

He’s not sure how they’ve gotten to this point, with Sunggyu leaning over the chair, rocking against him as Woohyun enters him from behind, the wave of their thrusts slow, yet deep—the space between them inexistent. It probably had to do with silly things like crossing looks and years of longing.

“What?” Sunggyu groans, looking over his shoulder. Woohyun leans back and runs his hand around one of Sunggyu’s thighs after pulling down the man’s shorts until they’re pooling at his knees. Slow, torturing. He finds, pleasantly so, that Sunggyu is hard, and strokes him in rhythm with his thrusts.

Sunggyu, demanding, stubborn, grinds against the fingers wrapped around him and fucks himself on Woohyun’s cock.

—

Sungyeol throws a bag at Woohyun, waking him up after three hours of unstable sleep.

“Get up, I’ll work with you today,” he says. “We have flight practice.”

—

Sungjong sticks his tongue out at him when the boy walks by him as he’s discussing something with his superior. Strolling next to him, carrying a decent-sized toolbox, Sunggyu acknowledges him with a slight nod. Woohyun can’t say that the fact there’s no hard feelings between them surprises him; they’ve probably talked about everything already.

He shows Sungjong his middle finger discreetly when they’re far enough from him. Confused, the Wilkian points at him while muttering something to Sunggyu, who laughs after seeing Woohyun. It makes a tiny smile sneak through his lips, and the boner on his pants becomes less unbearable.

—

Little by little, his truce with Sunggyu grows to an uncertain kind of familiarity. Woohyun isn’t sure where they stand, to tell the truth, but to him it seems that Sunggyu has opened up to him. Proof of that is the Xerxian chewing on raw sploot from Keplerian grounds during dinner, while their respective roommates chat next to them.

Their punishment came to an end almost a week ago, but Sunggyu still sits down to eat with him. What’s even more surprising, he invites Sungjong, Myungsoo and that weird guy with thick eyebrows who supposedly has to sleep upside down to regain energy, which in turn attracts the ridiculously impressionable Sungyeol/Dongwoo duo to the table.

“ _So noisy,_ ” he mumbles in Korean, his native language. In front of him, Sunggyu chuckles and nods. The other five people remain unaware, too focused on trying to stab Sungjong’s palms. (Hint: It’s impossible.)

“ _You think so too?_ ” Sunggyu says in the same language, poking his food. “ _The food isn’t that great today either. Let’s call it an early night._ ”

Just then, Sungyeol notices them speaking in a language foreign to him and butts in. “Hey, that’s rude. You don’t see Dongwoo and I talking to each other in Cygnusian at the table.”

“Sorry, we were just talking about the food,” he says, dumping the leftovers on Dongwoo’s place. “I’m leaving.”

“Me too, I’m not too fond of today’s menu,” Sunggyu adds, doing the same. Hoya doesn’t look as appreciative for the extra food as Dongwoo, who is already tugging at the weird paste with renewed fervor.

They leave their plates on top of the trashcan and leave, strolling side by side as they engage in trivial conversation. Woohyun notices that Sunggyu keeps walking even when he should’ve turned right to go to his room, but decides not to comment on it. Once they reach the door to Woohyun’s room, he glances at Sunggyu.

“So… do you want to come in?” he asks, and Sunggyu looks around, taking in his surroundings. He probably didn’t realize they passed the hallway to his room a long while ago.

“Sure, why not.”

They settle on Sungyeol’s bed because it’s the closest one, and Woohyun remembers he has some candy leftover from a care package his family sent him not too long ago.

He shares them with Sunggyu, whose eyes open the widest Woohyun has ever seen. “Mom only sends healthy stuff and medicinal herbs,” he says.

“Really? My parents only stuff me with candy. Sometimes I miss their homemade food.”

Sunggyu bites on a cookie. “I know, me too.”

Woohyun stretches on the bed, looking up, while Sunggyu munches on his food reserve. Even though he’s been careful to save enough, for some reason it doesn’t matter if the other man finishes everything that night. Well, maybe it matters a little, so Woohyun makes a mental note to ask his family for more the next time they send something.

“I never thought I’d have a sweet tooth until I came here,” Sunggyu says, putting aside a Twinkie wrapper. He pushes the box aside (Woohyun is a little bit thankful) and lies next to Woohyun.

The man laughs. “I know. Not only sweets but junk food in general.”

“You know what I miss? Shrimp snacks.”

“Oh! I had forgotten about those. I’ll tell my family to send an extra bag.”

Sunggyu rolls to his side, legs hanging out of the bed, and stares at Woohyun in a way that makes him embarrassed, but he’s not sure why. “Do they send stuff often?”

“Kind of,” Woohyun shrugs. “They’re busy at the restaurant sometimes, and since my brother does catering a lot, well…” he trails off. “What about you?”

“My mom does, but she has some other things to do,” Sunggyu replies, glancing away for a few seconds. “I also have a half-sister who has kids, you know? I receive a package from them once in a while. They're the ones that have the most junk food.”

Woohyun reaches to pet Sunggyu’s hair with uncertainty. He runs his fingers through the silky hair before encountering the man’s antennae.

“Sorry,” he says when Sunggyu stares at him with a confused expression. “I’ve never touched other than my brother’s.”

Sunggyu’s expression relaxes. “Oh, does he have them too?”

“Yeah,” Woohyun continues treading Sunggyu’s hair. “Are you the only one in your family?” he guesses, and when Sunggyu nods, he pushes his head in front of the other man. “So, aren’t you curious? Touch them, touch them!”

Sunggyu snorts, but obeys. “What are you, a dog?” He grabs one of Woohyun’s antennae between his thumb and his forefinger and squeezes it lightly. Woohyun is glad they’re lying down, otherwise he would lose his balance, although it still makes him feel kind of dizzy.

(But maybe that’s just because Sunggyu is so close Woohyun could simply reach over and place his lips—)

“Do you ever feel kind of homesick?”

Woohyun blinks, and then thinks over Sunggyu’s question. “Actually yeah… I guess I do. This is not what I thought it was, you know?” He glances away for a few seconds. “My mandatory two years will be up soon, so I might go back and get a degree or something.”

Sunggyu nods, pensive. “Sometimes I think about that too, but I don’t think I’m needed there. I mean, my family misses me but they have their lives. In here, there’s always work for me.”

Woohyun halts his movements on Sunggyu’s head. Maybe he’s imagining things, but he’s pretty sure Sunggyu has tugged at his hair to push him closer. So he does, he moves until Sunggyu and him are breathing the same air.

“And if you were?” he mutters because he’s a fool and falling in love. “If you were needed, would you go back?”

Sunggyu stares at him, unblinking, and proceeds to disentangle himself from Woohyun’s grip. “I suppose I would go,” he says, grabbing another packet of cookies from Woohyun’s stash.

—

That night, Sungyeol and Dongwoo come to their room to find Sunggyu resting his head on Woohyun’s thighs, hands wrapped around himself and snoring lightly. Woohyun is so busy playing with the man’s antennae.

“What’s that sound?” Sungyeol asks in a whisper.

“Woohyun makes it sometimes too,” Dongwoo replies in the same tone.

Woohyun shrugs. “It just means he’s very tired. Do you mind taking the top bed?”

Sungyeol shakes his head, climbing up, while the ever-motherly Dongwoo grabs his blanket and throws it over Sunggyu. After that, he passes the pillow to Woohyun, who has no plans of moving other than to rest his back against the wall.

They whisper their goodnight wishes and Woohyun thinks it’s worth to stay in that position for a couple of hours if it means Sunggyu won’t leave his side.

(Later, after they all wake up, Sungyeol and Dongwoo ask him what’s up with the pink on Sunggyu’s cheeks as he rushes out of the room and Woohyun laughs.)

—

“So,” Sungjong starts, “is anything new happening between Sunggyu and you?”

Woohyun glances at his copilot, eyes narrowed. “What do you mean?”

“Sunggyu told me it’s considered rude among humans to answer a question with another.”

“Yeah but you’re not human so it doesn’t count,” Woohyun shoots back, tilting the Interceptor to avoid a series of small floating rocks. “No, really, what’s up with the sudden interest?”

He catches Sungjong pouting with the corner of his eye, and nudges the young man. After a while, Sungjong sighs and says, “It’s another bet.”

“Oh really?” It doesn’t surprise Woohyun for some reason. “Are you like an addict or something?”

“Hey, in my planet is like a worldwide sport,” Sungjong claims. “One needs to have his fix somehow.”

“So what’s the bet about this time, whether we have angry sex or not?” Woohyun asks, ignoring Sungjong’s explanation. He’s pretty sure the boy has a problem. After no response from the younger, Woohyun groans. “Oh my god.”

“Well.. You’re pretty much of the same species and you’ve both displayed signs of mutual attraction so we thought—”

“‘We’?”

“The rest of the guys and me.”

Woohyun wants to reply something, but before he’s able to say anything, a bright dot appears on his radar. “What’s that?”

Sungjong reaches for the communicator. “Waiting for orders, sir”

“ _Do not engage,_ ” a voice comes from the speaker. “ _Passenger ship out of course. Papers are in order._ ”

Woohyun watches it pass by. “I’ve never seen one so small.”

Sungjong shrugs. “Probably a new model or something.” Woohyun moves along, patrolling the area. “So yeah, tell us when you mate. And if you do it before the end of this week it would be great. Sungyeol has some of Earth’s junk food he stole from you ready for me.”

—-

Woohyun pushes his wet bangs aside at the same time Sunggyu enters the communal showers. Most people won’t come this late at night, so it surprises him to see the man enter the place and occupy the stall next to him.

“Hey, what’s up,” Sunggyu mumbles with sleep coating his words, turning on the shower. The division between them is only chest-leveled so they can talk.

“Hard day?” Woohyun asks, washing himself. It only takes a look to see Sunggyu is covered in grease and soot.

The man lets out a deep sigh and shakes his head, reaching for the soap. “One Interceptor was a mess today. I don’t know what happened, it ran smoothly and then…”

“Yeah, Sungjong and I were there. I hope the pilots are okay,” Woohyun mutters, distracted. He glances at Sunggyu, waiting for the man to comment, but the sight that greets him pretty much leaves him blank.

Sunggyu is standing under the stream of water with his head tilted back and his hair pushed up. He has his eyes closed and mouth slack, breathing deeply as the water runs down his chest. Woohyun gasps, hurriedly looking away when he catches himself staring.

He clears his throat, “So did you find what caused the explosion?”

Sunggyu shakes his head. “My boys are still working on that, I was sent to rest. I’ve been checking the Interceptors all day.”

“You sound tired,” Woohyun comments. “Have you had dinner yet? I can share some of my special candy with you.”

“‘Special candy’,” Sunggyu repeats and follows with a giggle. “You make it sound like drugs.”

“Right, because I know—Wow, what happened to your back?” He exclaims, turning off the stream. He’s only caught a glimpse of tar-colored stains that aren’t washing off with the water.

Sunggyu tries to look. “Oh, it’s probably oil from the starfighter’s engine leaking, is it gone yet?” He reaches over and rubs a spot over his shoulder, which turns his skin back to normal. He can’t reach the rest, so with a gulp, Woohyun exits his stall and enters Sunggyu’s.

“Let me just—Yeah, Um,” Woohyun mumbles helplessly, “do you want help with that?”

Sunggyu shrugs. “You’re already here so…”

He doesn’t finish his sentence, so Woohyun starts rubbing the oil off Sunggyu’s back. He stares at Sunggyu’s scales, pearly under the artificial lights, and thinks back to that dream he had who knows how long ago. This is dangerous.

“Do you want a massage, hyung?” he asks in their native language, unable to help the hoarseness of his voice. He feels Sunggyu tense under his touch.

“Sure,” Sunggyu replies, uncertain. He lets out a little yelp when Woohyun starts kneading his shoulders.

“You’re really tense,” the younger man comments, feeling his cock harden and trying to keep his distance. He’s not sure how he’s gonna get out of this without embarrassing himself for life, but with Sunggyu’s pliant under his fingertips, growing relaxed by the second, he thinks it’s worth it.

“Oh…” Sunggyu moans. In response, Woohyun adventures his hands down to the small of Sunggyu’s back and back up again before daring to wrap them around Sunggyu’s chest.

“Is this okay?” Woohyun asks, and Sunggyu, wordless, only nods in response. Woohyun wraps his fingers around Sunggyu’s nipples, between his thumb and forefinger and with the same care Sunggyu did to his antennae that night they shared snacks one too many nights ago.

“It’s okay,” Sunggyu voices, leaning against him. He flinches when his back comes in contact with Woohyun’s erection. “Is that...”

He doesn’t finish his question. Doesn’t need to. Woohyun presses his palm flat against the taut skin and slides down, down, slowly, until it reaches Sunggyu’s coarse hairs between his legs. He keeps going, but pauses once his fingertips brush against the base of Sunggyu’s cock.

“Yes?” he mumbles, rocking them lightly as he waits for Sunggyu’s response.

The man doesn’t say anything, but lets a hand wander while resting the other against the shower wall. He grabs Woohyun’s hand and wraps it around his growing erection, moaning at the touch. Woohyun shudders, using that as an opportunity to slip his cock between Sunggyu’s legs and gasping at the sensations shooting through his body.

“Yes,” Sunggyu says, rocking against him. Woohyun starts stroking him slowly, mind drifting off to his now recurrent dreams of them rolling in the small bunk bed, or in the cramped space of his Interceptor. But fantasy isn’t as good as the feeling of the man pressing against him as Woohyun tugs at his cock. Wet, naked. Tight. Woohyun rubs on Sunggyu’s thighs and thinks he could just slip inside if only Sunggyu let him.

“Hyung,” he starts, meaning to ask for permission, but Sunggyu shakes his head and turns around.

“Someone will see us,” the older man mutters, gripping Woohyun’s cock.

Rushed, impatient. Sunggyu jacks him off while Woohyun tries to do the same, tries to keep up even though with each tug of Sunggyu’s hand he feels like the whole base is tilting on its axis.

For a second Woohyun feels something explode inside him, and then spreads with a speed that leaves him breathless, mindless, wondering if that’s what astronauts feel when floating in space

It doesn’t take very long for Sunggyu to follow, thick ropes of semen spurting out and mixing with the water in a matter of seconds. For a while, the only sound in the shower room is that of the water droplets hitting the ground before Woohyun reaches over and turns off the stream.

“Hyung,” he says before being able to stop himself, feeling his cheeks grow red.

“Funny, I had never been called that,” Sunggyu is quick to comment before Woohyun can say something else. He walks out of the stall and takes the towels lying on the bench in front of the showers, keeping one for himself. “Here.”

Woohyun thanks him and grabs the other towel. “So… about this,”—he catches Sunggyu’s tense body and avoiding eyes and tries not to pay too much attention to the heavy feeling settling on his stomach— “It was just a thing of the moment, right?”

Sunggyu starts dressing himself, movements calculated, as if gauging Woohyun’s reaction. Even to hurt, he’s a careful man.

“Yeah… we… weren’t thinking, right?” He finishes putting on his pants and cotton shirt while Woohyun stands in front of him, too emotionally stunned to do anything. “Listen something—something may come up with the Interceptors, so I’m gonna take a look before going to bed.”

“...Sure”

Sunggyu leaves, and Woohyun starts to dry himself with the towel, pretending rejection doesn’t hurt.

—

The next day, Woohyun offers Sunggyu a piece of candy as a peace offering, a sign that everything is okay, but just like the beginning of their relationship, Sunggyu’s disappearance is gradual. At first it starts with shorter periods of time when they see each other, which, considering the situation with some of the starfighters, is understandable. Then, the mechanic skips out dinner, and Sungjong and Myungsoo comment he’s barely at their room. After a while, Woohyun stops encountering in the hallways, and when he does, Sunggyu barely acknowledges him.

And he understands, he does. After all the time Sunggyu has spent by himself, with only some minimal company from his roommates and team of mechanics, it’s hard to welcome someone as overbearing as Woohyun. He _understands_. He’s gone too far in trying to be liked by Sunggyu.

But he wasn’t misguided. Or at least he didn’t think so. Even his roommates and Sungjong had commented on their relationship—on where it seemed to head, at least.

Too bad they were mistaken.

With those thoughts rounding his head, Woohyun stretches his arms over his head and places a magazine over his head. Outside, someone plays _La vie en rose_ through the speakers. Who would have thought old Earthling music would be preferred in the loneliest base at the end of the galaxy.

He’s worked out for the day during drilling, and while everyone else went to grab something to eat and shower, Woohyun has decided to nap inside a small, one-person Interceptor. It’s a slow day at the base.

He closes his eyes and lets his mind drift off until he’s not thinking of coherent thoughts any more, letting drowsiness take over him. It feels like a blink, honestly, when he opens them back again after hearing the sound of a door snapping closed, but he assumes it must be a dream because in no real world he would have Sunggyu sitting on his lap, straddling his hips.

Woohyun hums, thinking it’s another of _those_ dreams—which have been even more recurring despite his conflicting feelings since that time at the common showers—and goes along with his fantasy. He pulls the man against him, groaning when he feels the pressure on his groin and the lean body of the man he’s crushing on.

Before he has the chance to squeeze Sunggyu’s ass like he’s done in other dreams, however, the immense pain of a wretch falling on top of his head brings him back to reality.

“Ouch!” Woohyun exclaims, letting go of the soft body on top of him and grabbing his head.

Sunggyu gasps, holding Woohyun’s head delicately. “Are you okay?”

Woohyun closes his eyes and then blinks in quick succession, mesmerized by the sight of Sunggyu’s worried face so close to him. _So it wasn’t a dream?_

“Y-yeah, I think so.” His entire head is pulsating, but Sunggyu doesn’t need to know that. “What was that for?”

“Sorry, I—” Sunggyu puts some distance between them, but he isn’t able to stand up since there isn’t enough space in the cockpit to stretch fully. “I came to check the top panel,” he points to the board on top of Woohyun, “but since you were sleeping I didn’t want to disturb you. You startled me.”

“More like you didn’t want to talk to me,” Woohyun points out. He isn’t going to talk about the fact that he was groping Sunggyu on his sleep. Nope. Not at all.

Sunggyu sighs. “That too.”

Woohyun sets the seat straight by pulling a lever on the side to be closer to Sunggyu, even if the other man is looking at him from above. He wants to ask Sunggyu so many questions, but the only thing he comes up with is, “Was it really that bad? Did you not enjoy it?” He widens his eyes. “Did you feel like I forced you? Because that’s the least thing I want to do.”

“What? No!” Sunggyu says, body stiff. “I… actually enjoyed it.”

“And do you usually avoid the things you enjoy?”

Sunggyu actually has the audacity to narrow his eyes. “You’re not a thing.”

“But you’re not only running away from me, are you?” Woohyun leans forward, trapping Sunggyu with his body and the control panel. Who knows where this surge of courage comes from. “What are you scared of?”

“So besides pilot and candy hoarder you’re also a psychologist?”

“Don’t forget an excellent masseur.” Woohyun smiles, but Sunggyu cringes. “Too soon?”

“I’m not scared of anything.”

Woohyun closes his eyes, inhaling Sunggyu’s scent. He’s so close their noses are touching, and Sunggyu smells what a star might smell like. Oil, soot, charcoal, and a hint of sweat. What stars smell like.

“So?” he mutters, teasing Sunggyu’s lips with his.

“So…” Woohyun can hear Sunggyu gulping.

He has no time to hear the answer, however. Alarms start ringing in the whole base, alerting them

“ _All pilots report to the runway. All pilots report to the runway_.”

They look at each other, confused, before Sunggyu opens the hatch on the side of the craft and jumps out. Woohyun follows suit.

“You gotta go, I’ll stay back to fix this thing.” He points at the panel with cables hanging out loosely.

Woohyun frowns, but he knows it’s futile to ask Sunggyu to come with him. Work comes first after all. Sunggyu notices his hesitance, so he adds, “we’ll talk when you come back, I promise.”

And then, then Woohyun is not sure if the base has received a hit or if the universe has decided to move on its opposite direction but he wouldn’t mind that to happen more often if it means that Sunggyu can lean on him and press his soft, dry lips against Woohyun’s.

—

The rocks.

Of course it’s the fucking rocks.

Woohyun maneuvers the starfighter through a cloud of small rocks, potential projectiles, while Sungjong shoots at their enemies. So much time wasted eyeing them, thinking nothing because the fucking radar detected _nothing_ , to find out a rogue group of individuals not belonging to the Alliance had been hiding among them.

“Can’t you at least try to hit something within a hundred meters distance?” Woohyun spits, gripping the controller. Sungjong clicks his tongue.

“If you didn’t pretend we’re in a fucking blender I would,” he shoots back.

“I’m sorry, in case you missed it there’re a bunch of—” A projectile passes next to them. Woohyun tilts the spacecraft enough to miss it. Covered by a helmet, his head aches. “Shit, sorry.”

“Apologies accepted,” Sungjong sighs, finally hitting a small craft. It’s similar to the one they saw a couple of weeks ago, probably even the same. “Do you think they were using false permits?”

“I would lose faith in our system if they weren’t,” Woohyun replies. “Three o’clock.”

Sungjong aims, shoots. It hits another craft, this time bigger. “Got it.”

“What are we even chasing them for, smuggling?” The younger man wonders aloud. “Watch out for that—”

Woohyun avoids hitting the debris floating in space. “They’re probably the ones behind the incident with the Interceptors from the other day.”

A couple of other starfighters join their ship in the fight, crossing fire with the criminals. The odds are overwhelmingly on the side of the military, but they won’t go without a fight. An officer barks orders through a speaker. They’re moving closer to the base, which could represent a threat if it’s caught between the crossfire, so Woohyun decides to act quickly.

The young pilot narrows his eyes as he pushes the controller forward, getting ahead from the rest of his peers. He avoids another bunch of space rocks, and Sungjong shoots at the bigger ones. The rebels fire back, but he’s quick to avoid them, even though his head starts pounding and he’s starting to feel nausea. He trusts Sungjong to keep the aim straight and take care of the ones who dare to cross the young man’s sight. Without them noticing, Woohyun starts stirring them away from the base and leading them to bigger ships, using the rocks as their advantage, guerrilla-style.

After a particular rough spin, however, Woohyun feels his lunch climbing back up his throat and wonders if Sunggyu really did hit him too hard with the wrench.

“Hey,” he says, but a moment of distraction is all it takes for a meteorite to strike one of the engines at the same time an enemy ship fires at the other engine. At least Sungjong manages to do the same as an act of revenge. “Shit.”

The starfighter gives a rough shake before red lights flash in the whole ship, warning them of the failing engines. They still have one running, but it’s not enough to resist the fight and neither it is to come back to the base. Woohyun curses again.

“Well, I think the best we can do is dies as heroes now.”

Sungjong narrows his eyes. “Don’t joke with that, you idiot,” the younger man says, voice reflecting his age, “should I activate the escape pod to get to the base?”

“Among the crossfire? They’ll shoot us as soon as we’re out of the craft” Woohyun replies, pushing the spacecraft to its limits as he drives the ship back behind his peers. He tries the radio, but only interference greets him. “Shit. The best we can do right now is get closer to the bigger ships in hopes they’ll take us in.”

Woohyun’s vision is starting to get blurry, but he can still control what’s left of their spacecraft to avoid more rocks. They have gotten lucky; no one has delivered the coup the grace, probably given the protection from the now active Behemoths. Whether that will remain the same once their seats turn into a dual escape pod, they shall see.

Too bad Woohyun is too busy passing out to find what happens.

—

The first thing that greets him when Woohyun opens his eyes is light. Light, and a resonating ache in his throat  .

He shuts his eyes closed again and groans, but his throat feels too dry and it comes out as more of a gasp than anything. A cup presses against his lips, urging him to drink, so he does. His left arm hurts.

“What happened?” he mutters after the man—Sunggyu, he realizes—takes away the now empty glass.

“I guess we should find out,” the response is muted, wondering.

Woohyun watches him stand up after placing the glass on a small table next to the bed. He tugs at the curtain around the bed and leaves for a short time. A man with a white robe accompanies him when he comes back.

“Are we in a hospital?” Woohyun asks, sitting up.

“It’s only the base’s infirmary,” the doctor answers. “How are you feeling, Mr. Nam?”

He mulls over his answer for some time. “I’m not sure,” it’s what he ends up saying. “I have a slight headache, but other than that I think I’m okay. I’m just…confused, I guess.”

The doctor nods, writing down Woohyun’s symptoms. “Do you feel any nausea or dizziness?” Woohyun shakes his head. “I see. What’s the last thing that you remember?”

Sunggyu a breath away from him, sitting on his lap and then kissing tenderly, but maybe that was just his imagination? No, they had to have kissed, the feeling is ingrained on his lips and the image is burned inside his mind. But there was more… The alarm rang, and then what?

“I… we were chasing after a group of smugglers, I think?” Woohyun tries to recall. “Then we were hit. Oh God, we were hit and I—Sungjong, what happened to him?”

“He’s in good condition, Mr. Nam,” the doctor explains. “What you two did was very brave, but you shouldn’t have piloted a spacecraft if you felt dizzy. It was a dangerous stunt.”

Woohyun nods. “I didn’t think it was a serious blow, and the alarm kept ringing...”

“I understand, it was an emergency and luckily it didn’t became too big of an issue. As it seems, you only passed out, but I would recommend further studies,” the doctor says, crossing his eyes behind his back. “You should rest for now, if you have any problems please call me. We’ll monitor your condition to determine if you should be transferred to a proper hospital.”

“Thank you,” Woohyun replies as the man leaves. He then turns to Sunggyu. “How long was I out?”

“From the time you got beamed into a Behemoth till now? About an hour, I think,” Sunggyu replies, approaching him.

Woohyun whistles. “And Sungjong is alright?”

“The doctor just told you so.”

“You’re being unnecessarily rude to someone who just recovered from fainting,” Woohyun says, pouting. He wants to take his words back once Sunggyu looks away and squeezes his eyes shut. “Shit, sorry. I was just kidding.”

“Shut up, do you know how scared I was?”

“It wasn’t your fault.” He grabs Sunggyu’s hand in case the man decides to run away. He didn’t realize it before, but Sunggyu’s knuckles have the same glow to them than his back. “It was an accident, Sunggyu. I startled you.”

“That’s still my fault for…”

“Sitting on my lap?”

Sunggyu’s eyes fix on him, narrowed. At least he’s looking at Woohyun again, so that’s an improvement. “For not waking you up before.”

Woohyun tugs at his hand, making him stand close to the bed. “I would’ve still wanted you to sit there.”

“That’s not the point and you know it,” Sunggyu barks.

“Then what’s the point? You want to blame yourself for something that happened to me. You want to be responsible for everything in this base. Is that the point?” Woohyun replies, his voice rising with every word he pronounces. “Tell me Sunggyu, is that it?”

Sunggyu covers Woohyun’s mouth with his palm. “Would you keep quiet? There are people sleeping.”

Woohyun frowns, but relents. “Sorry for the outburst,” he mumbles after Sunggyu lets go of him.

“Do you have to apologize for everything?”

“Do you have to take charge of everything?”

Sunggyu puts his hands on his hips. “Are you copying me?”

“Are you copying me?” Woohyun mimics in a squeaky voice.

For a second, fury flashes through Sunggyu’s eyes before he clicks his tongue and throws himself at Woohyun. “Say ‘Woohyun is the ugliest pilot at the base’!”

It’s a surprise the bed holds on.

“Woohyunie is the best pilot in the entire galaxy!” He giggles, feeling a different kind of lighthearted. Sunggyu chuckles with him, then stands up again.

“I should apologize too,” he says, looking down.

Woohyun shakes his head. “I already told you it was an accident—”

“Not just for that,” Sunggyu interrupts. “I shouldn’t have avoided you ever since... that… night.”

“I understand,” Woohyun replies. “I mean, if you didn’t like it—”

“I did, that’s the thing,” Sunggyu cuts him off again, leaning over as he places his hands on the bed. His eyes never leave Woohyun’s. “I shouldn’t have avoided you when I realized how much I like you.”

Oh.

Woohyun tries to look away, but this time Sunggyu’s hand falls atop his and that is enough for him to fall under the spell of the man’s eyes.

“I’m sure you had your reasons.”

Sunggyu narrows his eyes. “Are you always so comprehensive?”

“Only with you.”

“So bold.”

Woohyun smiles. “Only because I know you like me.”

There is a pause. Sunggyu holds his breath, and then releases it. If there is something he’s been holding on for a while, it won’t be long before he says it.

“You shouldn’t give me hope when I know you’re leaving.”

There it is.

_ Wait, what? _

“I am?” Woohyun says, perplexed. “When did I say that?”

Sunggyu squirms. “Your two years are almost up, you said it yourself.” Now it’s his turn to avoid Woohyun’s eyes. “And now with your injury…”

Woohyun tries to think back to the time they were talking about that, but all he remembers is the insatiable need to kiss Sunggyu, the uncertainty of a border between friends and lovers.

“Do you want me to stay?” he asks. Sunggyu sighs.

“Don’t place the burden on me.”

“I just want to know,” Woohyun says. “I said I might, but if you don’t want me to stay,” he pauses, taking a deep breath in hopes that makes it easy for the words to come out, “then I have nothing holding me here.”

Sunggyu pushes his greasy bangs away, huffing. “I want you to do what makes you happy.”

“Being with you makes me happy,” Woohyun replies, tugging at Sunggyu’s hand for a second time.

“Then you should stay,” the older man concludes, interlacing his fingers with Woohyun’s. “At least until we figure out what comes next.”

Woohyun sits up, caressing Sunggyu’s face tenderly. “Sounds good to me,” he says, staring into the man’s eyes.

Sunggyu looks uncertain and yet calm, a slight pink dusting his cheeks. Woohyun presses his lips against the other man’s, feeling them soft, warm. Inviting. Sunggyu’s face grows hotter as time passes, but he moves his lips without hesitance. Woohyun closes his eyes and gives himself in to the peace filling his chest, feeling like floating among the clouds.

Finally, everything clicks into place.


	2. Bonus

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sunggyu is wearing shorts. That's it. that's the plot.
> 
> Just… porn. I just realized i only posted this on aff so here goes nothing.

The first time the weather sensor was busted, a shivering Woohyun swore he would transfer as soon as his and Sunggyu’s permits were processed and never look back to the shitty base in the middle of nowhere. Now that it’s busted again… well, Woohyun isn’t so sure he has a right to complain.

Because where else in the whole galaxy would he have such a sight in front of him? Well, maybe in some volcanic planet, but he’s not planning on vacationing there any time soon.

The thing is, he knows it’s probably not Sunggyu’s favorite—let’s call it—work outfit. The man is still kind of on the conservative side of things, especially when it comes to himself. He also knows that this is a very rare occasion that will probably never repeat itself, although he’s not sure if the clothes Sunggyu is wearing even belong to him. A part of Woohyun wishes they didn’t because if he sees his favorite mechanic wearing that on the regular after getting rid of the greasy jumpsuits and overalls, he’s pretty much royally fucked over.

“What’s up, nice legs?” he asks casually, leaning on the heavy-duty vehicle that Sunggyu is repairing.

The man grunts in response. “‘Nice legs’? Is that all you could come up with?”

He drops the tools and stands up, letting Woohyun appreciate Sunggyu’s figure. He’s wearing a sleeveless shirt with the base’s logo and his ever so trustworthy work boots. Oh, and for some reason, he’s also wearing a pair of ridiculously short shorts. Woohyun tries not to drool.

“You’re bending over in front of me, do you really expect me to be witty in this sort of situation,” Woohyun defends himself, getting rid of his jacket. What was he thinking when he decided to wear it before going out for a mission?

Sunggyu looks around briefly, knowing they’re alone in the old hangar, before answering, “As a matter of fact yes. I know I would’ve been.”

“No one’s denying that,” Woohyun replies. “You have a quick mouth.”

Sunggyu snorts. “You more than anyone know that my mouth is much more than that.”

The implication behind his words is enough to remind Woohyun of a particularly slow day where the bed was too small and Sunggyu’s mouth was hot, lips wrapped around him and tongue teasing while Woohyun tried his best to keep his moans to himself while Sunggyu’s fingers worked their magic inside him.

Woohyun crosses his arms and smiles, feeling a little adventurous with the rush of a finished mission and the heat of the atmosphere. “I do.”

“So do you wanna grab something to eat?” Sunggyu asks, eyes roaming through Woohyun’s figure. “Maybe get changed into something more comfortable, aren’t you sweating?”

The nerve of this man, Woohyun thinks. “Yeah, I’m feeling hot and hungry.”

Sunggyu purses his lips, nodding, pretending he wasn’t about to laugh at Woohyun’s cheesiness. “So… Should we head to the cafeteria or—”

“Oh for fucks sake,” Woohyun grunts, rushing forward to close the distance between them.

Sunggyu gasps against his lips when Woohyun holds him by the hips, his breath a soundless mess. Woohyun silences the man with a kiss, then, heart thundering on his ears as it does every time his lips move on top of Sunggyu’s while knowing they’re risking their jobs for being affectionate in public.

Although “affectionate” may be an understatement used to describe the kinds of things they do in secluded places of the base, trying to keep away from prying eyes the best they can.

Woohyun feels his palms grow hot and his lungs ask for air, so he pulls away from Sunggyu for a short while. There’s a guttural sound coming from Sunggyu’s throat when Woohyun sinks his teeth on his bottom lip and tugs at it. He loves that look on Sunggyu: impatient, but wary, ready to protest for the sake of the sport even though he’s probably more thrilled about what they’re going to do than Woohyun.

The hint of authority, of power, behind his eyes make Woohyun shudder.

And Woohyun, with his uncomfortable uniform and lungs filling with the humid air of the stupidly warm base, wants nothing more than to strip that familiar haughtiness off him along with those horridly tight shorts.

Woohyun lets go of Sunggyu for a fraction of a second, lips touching briefly as he gauges the stability of the machinery. Then, before the other man can protest, he lifts Sunggyu off the ground and sits him on top of the piece.

If they’re lucky, they come out unscathed of their little adventure. If they’re not, someone is going to get a show out of this.

“Are you crazy? Someone’s going to see us,” Sunggyu mentions, but still wraps his legs around Woohyun’s hips. He’s hard, it’s easy to tell. The smile he’s trying to keep down says enough.

“Then let’s show them how it’s done,” Woohyun replies, nipping Sunggyu’s neck softly. “It’s not like it’s the first time we’ve done it in a public place.”

“If you’re talking about that time at the showers,”—Sunggyu pauses, gasping and arching towards Woohyun when he bites hard at a particular spot—“I told you we’re not doing that again.”

Just the memory brings conflicting feelings to Woohyun. On one hand, there’s still the dull ache that is in the process of healing when Sunggyu rejected him. On the other, there’s nothing he wants more than to repeat the encounter, but this time take his time to unravel Sunggyu carefully and make the man scream in pleasure under the cool stream of water that washes away all the incriminating fluids.

“We would both enjoy it so, so much,” he mentions in response to both his thoughts and Sunggyu’s words.

Sunggyu follows the trail of a pearl of sweat from Woohyun’s hairline to his jaw. “And we can enjoy this for now?”

“For now…” Woohyun trails off, seeking Sunggyu’s soft lips. He doesn’t miss the way Sunggyu grinds against him once they make contact one more time.

His hands drop from Sunggyu’s waist to his hips, and then to his ass. Woohyun feels the rough, denim-like texture under his fingertips and squeezes. He hears a soft grunt and digs his fingers deeper, biting Sunggyu’s earlobe as he imagines the tightness around him.

“How do you want it?” he asks, like they have all the time in the world instead of a few minutes before someone catches them.

Sunggyu runs his hands through Woohyun’s back as he ponders, settling for hooking his fingers on the belt loops of Woohyun’s pants. “I’m in the mood for anything, really. But it better be soon.”

“Is that a threat?” Woohyun raises his eyebrows and unzips Sunggyu’s shorts.

“Let’s call it a challenge,” the man replies, understanding Woohyun’s silent request when the younger pats him in the thigh, and turns around. Once he’s set, bent over the machine, Woohyun gives him a light smack on the ass.

“Where did you get these anyway?” he asks, grinding against Sunggyu. The man lifts his hips and pushes back in response. “I don’t think you would own a pair of these, but I have to say it’s a nice surprise.”

“They’re Dongwoo’s, but they’re obviously too small for him,” Sunggyu replies. His hands run down his body until they’re on each side, pulling his cheeks apart for Woohyun’s eyes. “They look great on me, and since it’s hot and they don’t break the dress codes anymore...”

“I can’t believe they accept this,” Woohyun comments, almost running out of breath at the sight of Sunggyu spreading himself and imagining him doing the same action, but this time without clothes. “Your butt is pretty.”

“I know.” The man looks back, licking his lips. “Are you going to fuck me like this?”

Woohyun feels every hair on his body stand up because of the way Sunggyu is looking at him.

“Yes,” he says, voice deep and throat dry.

He massages Sunggyu’s ass and squeezes again, earning a giggle from the man under him, and tugs at the piece of clothing until it’s a little bit over Sunggyu’s knees. Sunggyu stops holding himself for the view for a while Woohyun uncovers his ass, but then goes back to spreading himself. His nails leave a mark on the skin, Woohyun notices.

“Do you want me to put it in already? No more foreplay or anything? Because I had a couple of things in mind,” Woohyun says, stroking himself under his boxers before unzipping his pants. “You lack romanticism, hyung.”

“There’s no time for that,” Sunggyu replies as Woohyun pulls his cock out and teases his entrance, thrusting shallowly between his cheeks. He lets out a soft hum, and Woohyun regrets choosing that position for a little bit, for he would love to see the glassy eyes and flushed cheeks Sunggyu must be sporting right now.

“There’s always time,” he mumbles, wetting his fingers while one of Sunggyu’s hand sneaks down, between his own legs. “What we lack right now is the right space for it, I guess.”

He watches Sunggyu move his hips lightly while stroking himself, in sync with the soft thrusting of Woohyun’s hips. Every time they’ve gotten intimate so far has been in either poorly lighted, dirty or cramped spaces (right now being the three of them combined) and that makes Woohyun feel conflicted. But he has the slight feeling that later, when this is all over and he and Sunggyu are somewhere stable and making love in a soft, plush bed, he’ll look back to these times while feeling nostalgic.

Sunggyu tenses, his back making a pretty curve, and Woohyun bites his shoulders as punishment.

“I know this isn’t going to last long, but at least let me put it in before you come,” he whispers against Sunggyu’s ear. One hand sneaks around Sunggyu’s hips while he pushes the first finger inside him.

“If you weren’t taking centuries to prepare me I wouldn’t have to entertain myself with something better,” Sunggyu replies, bending over. He wriggles for a little bit until his shorts are pooled at his ankles.

“Better?” Woohyun echoes, offended. “Sometimes I really dislike your attitude.”

To add more to his point, he pushes a second and third finger inside at the same time, ripping a groan from Sunggyu.

“Okay, okay I get it,” Sunggyu says, barely lifting his head from the surface. “Just... I just want you to put it in.”

 _The face he’s probably making_ , Woohyun thinks. _Fuck_.

He takes his fingers out and spits in his palm, licking his lips at the sight of Sunggyu waiting for him. A few wet strokes later, Woohyun is pushing the tip of his cock inside him. Once he doesn’t have to guide it completely, he lets go and grips Sunggyu’s hips. And then, only then, he shoves it in as hard as he can.

Sunggyu huffs, squeezed against the cold machinery and Woohyun’s body. He digs his nails on Woohyun’s forearm. “What the fuck,” he says, breathless.

Woohyun gulps, perspiration soaking through his shirt. Sunggyu feels tight around him, almost too tight. Lubrication wasn’t good enough; he had to put some force behind his thrust. He stills.

“Sorry,” he says, caressing Sunggyu’s back. The other man is starting to sweat as well. “Too rough?”

Sunggyu nods with difficulty, huffs coming in too loud for Woohyun’s ears. Whether is from pain or arousal, he does not know.

“It’s alright,” Sunggyu slurs. Then he starts moving back and forth tentatively, adjusting himself to the stretch. Woohyun shudders. “Rough enough.”

Woohyun curses aloud once more because the things Sunggyu does, the things he says, always makes him feel like he’s falling into a bottomless pitch only to bring him back with a rough shove and a burning fire that extends through his body. Sunggyu makes him feel like a storm brews inside him and the only relief is to lean over and grip Sunggyu’s hair to press a kiss over his temple.

Sunggyu, strong-willed and ready to fight whoever goes against him, mewls like he’s craving for nothing but Woohyun’s touch.

And so, Woohyun gives in.

His thrusts are frantic from the beginning. Not too fast at first, but deep enough to tear a moan from their throats every time Woohyun presses his hips flush against Sunggyu’s ass. But they grow impatient, needy. Sunggyu reaches between his legs and starts stroking himself again at the same time Woohyun starts pounding into him.

It’s a surprise no one has heard them yet, considering they haven’t been exactly quiet, and if anyone were to see them, they wouldn’t think of that as an act of love. An act of depravity, maybe. Self-indulgent desire, perhaps. Still, Woohyun thinks there’s no place he’d rather be than with Sunggyu, and knowing the older man, he wouldn’t be as intimate with anyone else as with Woohyun.

It’s the way things are.

Woohyun is, surprisingly, the first one to give in to the frenzy. He’s mindful enough to pull out of Sunggyu, but his cock ends up sputtering white coats of semen between his cheeks, the small of his back. Luckily enough, he manages to tug at Sunggyu’s shirt to avoid it catching any stains. He breathes hard, toes curling and calves tensing.

Sunggyu follows soon after, wailing with a high-pitched voice that he tries to shut almost instantly. Woohyun covers his mouth to stifle a chuckle as Sunggyu comes on his own hand and some of it spills on the machinery. He throws his head back as translucent pearls of sweat slide down from his forehead.

“Fuck,” he ends up muttering, boneless.

Reaching over for a rag to clean them both, Woohyun agrees.


End file.
